Cabinet agrees to progress Hereford Western Bypass

Cllr Philip Price, Cabinet Member Transport and Infrastructure, welcomed the decision, saying: “This is a very important positive step for the future of our City and Herefordshire as a whole. It’s vital that we develop the infrastructure to support much needed new housing and economic growth in the county, as set out in our Local Plan.”

As outlined in the Core Strategy and emerging draft Local Plan, the county needs to develop the infrastructure needed to:

• Improve transport connections and strengthen the resilience of the network – Vehicles travelling north to south through the county mostly go through Hereford to cross the river. Creating another road bridge across the River Wye will reduce reliance on Greyfriars Bridge and the A49 through the city, improving journey times and improving resilience of the network.
• Promote better health and wellbeing for our residents – reducing the volume of traffic on roads in the City creates the opportunity to deliver improvements to walking, cycling and public space in the city.
• Improve local air quality and public places – reducing congestion will help improve air quality in the City making it a cleaner more attractive place to visit and spend time.
• Support growth in the county - There is a requirement to develop around 16,100 new homes in the county by 2041, with many of these being planned for Hereford. Delivering all these new homes is not possible without strengthening our local infrastructure.  Reducing congestion and improving journey times will be a boost to local businesses and improve residents’ access to work, education, training and services.

Cllr Price continued: “This road strategy will strengthen the resilience of our network, delivering more reliable journey times and improving road connections, while also creating better links for local people and businesses. It will enable the delivery of more accessible and improved public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure, which will further help to reduce congestion, improve air quality in the City and enable our residents to lead healthier and more active lives.

“The opinions of local people and businesses has been key in making this decision, and the process has included a thorough review of the feedback gathered from the Hereford Transport Strategy Review. The views and experiences of local people will remain paramount, and we will be fully consulting with residents and businesses as we progress.”

Full information can be found in the Cabinet papers.